Tessa Emery

I want to write this letter to express my gratitude to the lovely staff at Church of Ubuntu who have been helping me on my journey to recovery for nearly 4 years now.

I was diagnosed with a Pilocytic Astrocytoma brain tumour in my thalamus and 3rd ventricle after being admitted to hospital with Hydrocephalus (Fluid on the brain) resulting in brain surgery to implant a shunt in my brain which drains fluid into my abdomen. I went through a very invasive long brain surgery operation in 2006 to partially remove some of the tumour leaving me with epilepsy and severe loss of memory (long and short term), I went through 18 months of rehabilitation to try and regain some memory and help with a speech impediment after the surgery.

The brain tumour began growing slowly again not long after the surgery and I suffered Grand Mal seizures which put my rehabilitation of my memory back once again and affected my confidence greatly.

I was put on tegretol (anti-convulsants) to control the seizures which after about 1 year started affecting my liver badly and my liver tests were showing I was toxic.

In 2011 I made contact with one of the original members of Church of Ubuntu after I read about Cannabis being used to control seizures in children overseas. I was lucky enough to be sent some medicinal cannabis as a gift to try so I could wean off the Tegretol. From this first day of taking the oil I have been seizure free, I have managed to stop taking all anti-seizure meds, my liver tests are now showing a 100% healthy liver, there has been no change in the size of the tumour since being on the oil and my overall health and wellbeing has improved significantly including my memory.

The information and guidance the staff at Church of Ubuntu have given me has been invaluable not only about medicinal cannabis but also nutritional information and information on essential oils. They are always available for any questions or concerns their patients have and are extremely supportive and encouraging.